Welcome to Wassie's Guide to the Gaming Galaxy. In this weekly guide, you'll find all you need to navigate the world wide web3 and beyond. Wassie will take you into the deepest depths to find hidden gems as well as fly you to the farthest stars to seek glory. Join us on this journey. Do not miss the next edition of WGGG, subscribe now.

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• Phantom Galaxies Pilots NFT Airdrop // Feb 15th (link)

• Nitro Nation Founders Ed Presale // Feb 15th (link)

• Read the intro of this newsletter // Feb 13th

• Phantom Galaxies Pilots NFT Airdrop // Feb 15th (link)

• Runiverse Leaks Mint Soon // March (link)

• Nitro Nation Founders Ed Presale // Feb 15th (link)

• ParallelTCG Quick Start Guide (link)

Game Releases & Updates

• BattleFly Early Access open (link)

• Splinterlands releasing beta game play (link)

• Aurory's Blitz Mode (link)

• Pixel Mon Trainers Adventure // Feb 13th (link)

• Guild Saga Hero Import (link)

• Pixel Online Page 8 Release (link)

• Beramonium Chronicles Dev (link)

• SkateX Dev Update (link)

• Skyborne Legacy Moves to Production Mode (link)

• Sunflower Land: Treasure Island Release (link)

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Welcome to thecoreloop's Weekly Recap, where we will cover the five must-know headlines and all fundraising news for the week. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss next week's recap.

This week I want to highlight two reports that reveal where kids and adults spend time online. We'll see some behaviors that may indicate where the general trend is heading. Epic Games released a new clipping app that lets you share Fortnite moments. I think incorporating these social elements natively is critical. Lastly, we'll wrap with a look at the State of Mobile from Data.ai and a report from my friends over at Delphi Digital on the trends & analysis of gaming for 2023.

Also this week we have over $90M+ in fundraising across both web2 and web3. There's $50M in funding for a holographic project and a large $15M raise for a web3 game.

A look at Newzoo: Gen Z's gaming habits foreshadow the metaverse | VentureBeat (LINK)

The report sampled consumers in the US aged 10-50, which they claim represents 180M people. Top highlights from the report:

• Mobile is where consumers consume IP, 4.3 hours per day versus 3 hours for PC, TV, etc.

• 13-hours per week on social media platforms

• 12-hours on video game platforms

• 69% of Gen Z actively create digital content. 59% for Millennials, 46% for GenX,

Users consolidate their consumption of content within one app -- or at least they try to. This behavior leads us to believe that users would concentrate into their own respective corners of the "metaverse".

A look at where kids are spending their time online (LINK)

Qustodio conducted a report into how users aged 4-18 engage with online platforms from a sample data of 400,000 families around the world from USA to Australia. Hands down, Roblox took the crown. Note that the top competitors for user's eyeballs aren't other gaming platform but rather other social media apps then content apps. Additionally, 60% of kids played Roblox. with the closest competitor being Clash Royale at 24%. When kids aren't playing Roblox, the top content platform where they spent their time was YouTube, with 67 minutes per day. So far we figured out that Roblox is the top gaming platform, YouTube is the top content platform, now what app do these kids use to communicate? Whatsapp and Discord, 37% and 32%, respectively.

A look at Epic’s new clips app, Postparty, helps you easily share your Fortnite moments - The Verge (LINK)

An integrated and native social feature to share your best moments is a powerful tool to socially activate your users. One of the most viral and engaging social feature is to share monumentous moments of your gameplay. This serves a dual purpose for the player as it allows them to brag (or relive) their best plays as well as enabling their friends and fans to vicariously experience the same excitement. Game designers should definitely incorporate some form of viral social loop into their gameplay and shareable, short, excitement-packed replays is a great feature to integrate. In Fornite's case, Epic created an app that allows users to clip moments in-game then connect their Epic Games account to the Postparty app on their mobile devices for easy sharing. One key element to note here is that Epic deliberately chose the mobile device as the distribution source. This is an intentional choice as Fortnite players in the past would record or take photos of their game screen of Fortnite on their phones to then share it with their friends.

A look at Data.ai reveal the state of mobile 2023 | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz (LINK)

There's a focus on time spent in Data.ai's report as a key metric to track engagement on our mobile devices as mobile advertisement is a large driver for the industry. Though our mobile engagement has been increasing year-over-year, the experts over at Data.ai predict that we're going to level off at spending 25 to 33% of our waking hours on our mobile devices. But to get onto the smartphones in the first place is through the download numbers. In 2022 there was an 11% increase YoY. After getting the on users' phones, monetization is the next step. Here we see that consumer spending habits dropped 3% to $167B, with games taking the grunt of the decline. Another area of monetization is through mobile ads and an increase of 7.5% is expected for 2023, indicating a $326B in ad spend. Again here, gaming ad spend dropped while the other categories of app remained strong.

• 1419 apps & games hit $10M in 2022, 224 passed $100M, and 10 passed $1B

• Consumer mobile gaming spend dropped 5% to $110B in 2022.

A look at Delphi Digital's trends & reports for gaming in 2023 (LINK)

In this report, Piers and Joseph covers some key themes, notable events, and emerging models to look out for in 2023. From our first foray into web3 gaming in 2021, we learned that play-to-earn doesn't quite work as well as there's a misalignment of expectation between "players" of web3 games and the studio's development speed. They believe that 2023 may not be the breakout year we need for web3 gaming to hit mainstream but there are quite a few promising titles dropping their alphas such as Sipher, EmberSword, and Illuvium. Therefore, they remain hopeful as the $7B of funding over the last 24 months will lead to some games that are out-of-this-world awesome.

A look at Boss Alien founder unveils Hardball Games following successful seed funding | Pocket Gamer.biz | PGbiz (LINK)

A look at Mino Games raises $15M to create Dimensionals Web3 game | VentureBeat (LINK)

A look at Snapser raises $2.6m in seed funding round | GamesIndustry.biz (LINK)

A look at Mawari raises $6.5M to speed 3D content delivery for the metaverse | VentureBeat (LINK)

A look at Light Field Lab raises $50M to manufacture its SolidLight holographic displays | VentureBeat (LINK)

A look at Latent Technology raises $2.1M to blend AI and game animations | VentureBeat (LINK)

A look at Xterio invests $2.5M in multiplayer RPG studio Overworld | VentureBeat (LINK)

A look at Matr1x raising $10M (LINK)

A look at TridentDAO crowd raising $3M (LINK)

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Connect with us on twitter @0xkapital_k @chng_raymond @cloudxgmf @wassiecapital @iandaog

1. Personalization --> Done at user-level (not cohort), Better offerings, Extend LTV curve.

2. Price Expansion --> Experiment with price discovery to expand LTV, Apple's App Store increase in available price points helps with this.

3. Platform Proficiency --> Post-ATT, iOS is now very different from Android. Each platform deserves its own focus!

Eric Seufert

@eric_seufert

I believe there are three broad product policies that mobile gaming studios must pursue in 2023 to compensate for distribution headwinds in a challenging market: Personalization, Price Expansion, and Platform Proficiency. Thoughts in a thread. (1/X)

62

11:57 PM • Feb 5, 2023

A look at the one rule you can't forget in Web3

wale.swoosh 🐳

@waleswoosh

Put your holders first or die.

The one rule in Web3 you must never forget

(1/17)

2,836

8:05 PM • Feb 1, 2023

A look at using quests to lead and design users for IRL experiences

Josh Lu

@JoshLu

Super Nintendo World will finally be coming to the US next week. The park is a literal game - complete with quests, powerups, and a boss battle

Park-as-game is genius bc it:

1 Adds structure to visits
2 Increases repeatability
3 Has monetization depth

Geek out with me

163

2:03 AM • Feb 7, 2023

A look at the use of generative AI in the gaming stack

Nami

@namianalytics

Generative AI is reinventing game development. From worldbuilding to engineering to marketing, novel tools are changing the way games are made.

We assess the practical realities and future possibilities of this technology, with a focus on web3 gaming

blog.nami.gg

How Generative AI Can Charge Web3 Game Development

Exploring the Technology’s Applications In Various Areas Of The Game Life Cycle

15

11:26 PM • Feb 6, 2023

A look at what's next for PFP projects

Forefront

@forefront__

1/ 2021 saw thousands of new PFP collections drop, each with their own communities, (and sometimes) mission and values.

Most of these communities, however, were left asking, "what comes next?"

In our 2022 TC Year in Review, we explored PFP projects becoming DAOs...

11

2:00 AM • Feb 9, 2023

A look at the NFT financing landscape

1k(x)

@1kxnetwork

1/ NFT finance is about to reach a new milestone... approaching 50k loans made against NFTs!

- Platform competition heating up
- User base is still concentrated
- Tail collections are underutilised

Exploring how the top borrowers are using lending protocols today

66

1:47 AM • Feb 9, 2023

A look at 10 findings about blockchain games

Sean | 2023 ETH Denver DM

@0xCousinSY

1/21 I spent 28 hours researching about every corner of blockchain gaming to produce a comprehensive guide for like-minded buidlers, here are my findings:

65

9:42 AM • Feb 3, 2023

A look at some Amazon x Web3 gaming rumours

Oscar | Memento Mori

@Web3_Memento

Blockworks just shared with us the gigantic rumor of:

Amazon and Web3 (gaming).

And is expecting an NFT initiative from Amazon in the spring.

In this is discussed:

• What has happened so far?
• The great potential of mass adoption
• Challenges

21

6:00 AM • Feb 2, 2023

A look at NFT lending landscape

Jameson Mah

@JamesonMah

1/ NFT lending is inevitable. Here's how to prepare for it.

For the degens, for the builders, for the artists...if you're wondering what leveraged JPEGs are all about:

Start here

medium.com

NFT lending is inevitable. Here’s how to prepare for it.

By Jameson Mah

157

2:54 AM • Feb 3, 2023

A look at botting on web-based games

jarindr.eth 🦇🔊 | GF

@jarindr

1/n A thread on why
HIGH REWARDS skill based web3 games model are DOOMED model.

( if you don’t know what you are doing )

tldr; Machine learning, reverse engineering

An example Dookeydash from @yugalabs

18

4:04 AM • Feb 9, 2023

This is the first edition of our Weekly Recap, where we will cover the five must-know headlines and all fundraising news. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss next week's recap.

This week we saw the good and bad of F2P games, a deep dive into a successful web game, a triple AAA mobile title shutting down, some trends in ad creatives, and an NFL super bowl concert. Here's the TLDR and some thoughts.

A look at the good and the bad of F2P (LINK)

Free-To-Play (F2P) flipped the traditional game monetization model on its head. By giving away the game for free, developers needed to find other methods to monetize. But gamers get to experience world-class games for free.

• Four benefits:
  (1) Revenue Uplift: Uncapped revenue upside, flexible & numerous monetization methods
  (2) Live Ops: Adding additional features over time in a very timely fashion
  (3) Accessibility: $60 for box games priced a lot of gamers out. Free games remove that barrier
  (4) Piracy: No point to pirate or torrent a game if its already free to download

• Four drawbacks:
  (1) Cheating & Smurf Accounts: Sybil attacking free games and players pub stomping
  (2) Underdelivering: Devs can ship unfinished games since they have "live ops" to ship features at a later date
  (3) Predatory Practices: Loot boxes, and other gambling-esque techniques to get users to spend

A look at Shell Shockers' multi-million dollar web game success (LINK)

Since the majority of crypto are web-based games today, or at least their alpha is a web game, it's important to study successful cases and one of which is Shell Shockers. Generating low 7 figs annually, Shell Shockers an FPS with dual monetization methods in in-game purchases and ads (like banners, video ads, etc.). 80/90% of revenue comes from ads with the remainder comprising a mix of cosmetic purchases and "VIP Status", which effectively remove ads.

The game is mainly played by schoolkids between the age of 10 to 15 with the majority in western countries (US, Canada, Spain, etc.). The game has a DAU range between 300 to 350k -- that's quite impressive for a web game. But this doesn't come without challenges.

Most browser games use HTML5, or Unity, or other 2D platforms like Godot. However, Shell Shocker's multiplayer function creates a complex backend to process actions from 10k+ simultaneous players. The backend complexities aren't the only challenge; marketing and acquiring new users is also a key challenge for web games since influencers won't play the game and the buying UA eats into the profit too much.

A look at Apex Legends Mobile to close (!!!), Battlefield Mobile was canceled and Industrial Toys shuttered (LINK)

Apex Legends Mobile closes down, Battlefield Mobile is canceled, and the studio (Industrial Toys) is shuttered. Big news coming out of EA this week with it shutting down its less-than-a-year-old (May 2022) title. EA CEO says that the game fell short of its expectation. Crediting the lack of a sticky and large player base is the main reason as Apex requires a robust set of players to deliver the experience EA wants. It's not surprising that games are shut down or that studios are closed but the abrupt nature and the lack of response to players' questions regarding all the IAP they purchased and the progress that they've made. Earlier this year, we saw Google Stadia's service being shut off but Google had a rather graceful exit to stage left by offering full refunds on the devices while also allowing the users to keep the devices. There seems like trust has been broken between EA and the players (yet again). Now if EA decides to relaunch another Apex title -- mobile or otherwise -- the players may feel reluctant to even start playing. It may have been the right call to close, but it was poorly executed.

A look at AppLovin's mobile creative trends insights (LINK)

AppLovin dropped a hefty report this week on the Mobile Creatives trends it saw in 2022. They had over 52.3B impressions, 22.4B clicks, 267M installs, and across 200+ apps. In over 75% of the cases, renovation and makeover led to the best creatives. Dramatic narratives are still bringing in engagement. There's been an uptick in the adoption of generated voiceovers, specifically, almost a 1/3 of all creatives had generated voiceovers compared to 0 in 2021. On the Holidays front, and unsurprisingly, Holidays that are visually stimulating like Halloween, and the 4th of July have the best creative wins. Playable game ads with matching, renovation, or drawing lines were good mechanics to have in 2022. Ad creatives that demonstrate some form of urgency and sense of failure led to better performance. The dark side of ad creatives is simply misleading ads (aka the bait and switch). Here we saw that strategy games had the most misleading ads from actual gameplay with word games being closest to actual gameplay.

A look at AppLovin's mobile creative trends insights (LINK)

The NFL announced it is hosting a virtual Super Bowl-style concert within Roblox. Airing on February 10th starring Saweetie. This coincides with the NFL's launch of its game Super NFL Tycoon on Roblox on February 4th. The concert will occur within the Warner Music Group's Rhythm City, which is a social RPG that was launched in Roblox. This is the next evolution of promotion and marketing. This immersive experience is delivered in a digital medium, while still promoting something outside of the experience itself. We've seen many consumer brands partnering with Roblox to bring their goods and wares into the metaverse but this NFL Super Bowl concert is the first one that brought in a physical and deeply-rooted cultural experience.

A look at Prisms VR raising $12.5M (LINK)

A look at Oh Baby Games raising $6M (LINK)

A look at Nexus raising $10M (LINK)

Subscribe to never miss a Weekly Spotlight! If you want the news daily and directly delivered to you, join our telegram channel: https://t.me/thecoreloop

Connect with us on twitter @0xkapital_k @chng_raymond @cloudxgmf @wassiecapital